“Continuing Conversations on Race: The Problem of a Single Story”

September 16 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Abbot Public Library and the Marblehead Racial Justice Team are hosting “Continuing Conversations on Race” at the Library on Monday, September 16th from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

One part of understanding white culture and white privilege, and their consequences, has to do with how single stories reinforce dominant ideas about what is normal, who is considered dangerous and in need of control, or what is assumed to be refined or best. Some of these stories are stark and some are subtle: what we define as classical art vs. outsider art, for example.

We will view part of a engaging TED Talk by the Nigerian writer Dr. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She illustrates the impact of culture and how it deeply informs and organizes our thoughts and feelings about the world in which we live.

After the video, we will discuss examples of where you hold a single story and how it feels for you to realize that you carry a single story.

These ongoing conversations are a safe and welcoming place in which we explore our own privilege, biases, and questions, and where we continue to learn and grow by hearing each other’s stories so that we can best make a difference. It is a place for listening, conversation, and engagement.